The Ideal Number Of Housemates To Live With

If you’re trying to decide who to live with for your next year of uni, you might find yourself faced with a bit of a dilemma - how many people should you live with? 

The amount of people you choose to live with can have a huge impact on the vibe in the house. Larger houses can sometimes feel a bit more chaotic, but you’ll always have people around who are up for a chat or a night out, whereas smaller houses are usually quieter. But it’s more important to think carefully about who you live with because if you end up falling out, things can get pretty awkward.  

Luckily, the student house experts at UniHomes have weighed up the pros and cons of the different housemate numbers to help you make the right decision! 

Living alone 

If sharing with other people while living in halls wasn’t for you, living alone might be the best option. The good news is that you should have plenty of student studios and one-bed apartments to choose from.  

However, living alone tends to come at a significantly higher price than sharing, so you’ll need to ensure you can make it work with your budget.  

One housemate 

Living in a two-bed house or apartment with a close friend might be ideal, especially if you choose your housemate wisely. However, having just one housemate can put a lot of pressure on your friendship. Sometimes, they’ll be busy or have plans with other friends, so you’ll need to be confident that you can live separate lives and not depend on each other too much. 

It’s also a good idea to choose a housemate whose values align with yours. If you’re a fan of a neat, tidy house and can’t stand the thought of dirty dishes being left in the sink, try and choose a friend who feels the same way! 

Two housemates 

Living with a couple of friends in a three-bed house can also work well if you don’t want to live in a big, shared accommodation. If on the rare occasion, you disagree with one of your housemates, there’s still another person in the house to reduce the awkwardness and act as a mediator.  

Sharing with two others can also be great for the times where you want to hang out but one of your housemates is busy - you’ll still have your other housemate to keep you company! Just make sure the three of you don’t accidentally start leaving one person out. 

Three housemates 

A four-bedroom house is one of the most common options. Living with three housemates means there are enough housemates to balance out any tension if there are disagreements. 

The downside of this living arrangement is that most four-bed houses only have one bathroom, meaning you might find yourself waiting in line more than you would in a smaller house.  

Four or five housemates  

Living in a larger shared house with four or five others is a great option if you want an authentic shared uni house experience. There should be plenty of four-bed houses to choose from, and sharing with more people means your bills will likely be lower. It’ll be tricky to organise bill-splitting with so many housemates, though, so it’s worth opting for a house with all bills included! 

5+ housemates 

Living in a big, shared uni house is not for everyone, but it can be an incredible experience if you decide to go for it. You’ll want to opt for an all-inclusive property to simplify sharing bills, and you should expect a bit of chaos in your living environment, but also a whole lot of fun. You won’t have to worry about making hard decisions about which of your friends to live with - you can live with them all! 

All-inclusive student properties from UniHomes 

We have an extensive landlord and letting agent network with all–inclusive student properties of all sizes. From cosy student studio flats to spacious 8-bedroom houses, we have something for everyone. Plus, it’s easy to filter by city, university, price, and number of bedrooms and bathrooms, making it simple to find the perfect student property for you and your housemates!  

All the properties on our site include utility bills, broadband and a TV licence to make your uni experience as stress-free as possible. No matter how many people you choose to live with, there’s no need to worry about how to split bills. We’ll take care of all that for you, and all you need to do is pay your all-inclusive rent each month.  

Contact us today to learn more about the student properties available, or check out what properties are available in your student city.